Glaring vulnerabilities temper title enthusiasm

SPAIN came a penalty shootout victory away ffrom reaching the finalf of Euro 2020 lastt year and La Roja are also expected to put up a fight in Qatarr this winter.

Luis Enrique’s men fleew under the radar for muchh of the Euros but saw off Crooatia and Switzerland on theirr way to the last four and have to be considered leading contenders for the World Cup after alsoa making the final of the NNations League last October.

Much like the starstudded side which dominated internationall football between 2008 and 2012, the current Spanish crop is focused on playing p high-intensity, possession p football and the t eam’s midfield remains its strength. s

Sergio Busquets is the experienced e man in the middle m and is joined by some of o the brightest starlets in world w football in Gavi, Pedri and a Dani Olmo.

But the combination of their high h line and a rather mediocre m defence, in which Aymeric A Laporte is the most im mpressive individual, means the t team can often be cut open with a single pass and defensive implosions have become b commonplace recently. r

At the other end of the pitch, meanwhile, m Spain still lack a star s out-and-out striker to polish off their free-flowing moves. Alvaro Morata struggles with confidence and missed too many chances in last year’s Euros and the team’s lack of quality in both boxes could ultimately be their downfall.

Manager Enrique is unlikely to stray too far from his philosophy of possession football and any players critical of the system could find themselves short of game time.

There is no doubting this Spain team have a chance in Qatar but there are still some glaring vulnerabilities and, in a tough group, they are unlikely to have things all their own way.

DLSuarez led Ecuador to the last 16 of the 2006 World Cup but failed to pick up a single point as Honduras boss in the 2014 edition and could have a mountain to climb in this section.

• Goalkeeper Keylor Navas remains a world-class operator between the sticks

• Experience and tournament

pedigree throughout the squad • Energy out wide, most notably in Sunderland ace Jewison Bennette

• Majority of squad play club football in the relatively weak Liga Promerica in Costa Rica • Influence of former star turn

Bryan Ruiz has waned

• Lack of quality options through

the spine